1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that is capable of detecting and/or locating a fault therein, an image forming system, and a method of controlling the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-259666 discloses an image forming system in which an image forming apparatus is connected online to a management apparatus installed in a service center via a communication line such as a public line, and in which data on the image forming apparatus is transmitted and received by remote control.
In this image forming system, a plurality of image forming apparatuses at remote locations are managed by one management apparatus in a centralized manner. Information about operating conditions of the image forming apparatuses (including information about consumables, operating time, and jamming) is collected, and management information is used for maintenance operations of the image forming apparatuses. For example, the operating conditions include the number of copies, and the maintenance operations include an automatic call to the management apparatus on the basis of self diagnosis of each image forming apparatus, and adjustment of the components of the image forming apparatus in response to access from the management apparatus.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-302019 discloses an image forming system that determines a fault as a maintenance operation by detecting sound produced in an image forming operation performed by an image forming apparatus. More specifically, detected sound information is transmitted to a management apparatus via a communication line, and is compared with prestored information about sound produced when the image forming apparatus normally operates. The management apparatus thereby determines the presence of a fault in the image forming apparatus, and notifies a serviceman of the fault in the event the fault is determined.
However, in the above-described image forming system, since the fault is determined only on the basis of sound information, determining a precise location of the fault may be difficult or impossible. As a result, a serviceman may be required to manually find (locate) the fault during a repair service visit, which can be time consuming. Furthermore, it may be difficult for the serviceman to find the fault in only one on-site repair operation.